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Kingdom of God
The Kingdom of God is a warlord state and a radical religious sect that was established by a former raider in Washington. It claims to be God’s Kingdom on Earth and is dedicated to uniting the peoples of the Northwest under the banner of God. History And There Came Two Angels to Sodom at Even The history of the Kingdom of God began in the 2240s. By that point, David was already an established raider warlord in the ruins of Spokane, Washington. He and Maria were already together, and New Disciples were already rallying to his side. David's raiders were mostly spent fighting Oregon tribals, super mutants, and people who possessed things they wanted. They continued to raid caravans and travelers. In this time, David drifted further and further into Christian fundamentalism under the influence of Maria. A near-death experience in 2249 brought David even closer to Christian fundamentalism, alienating his raider comrades even more. It grew even worse when David gave the 'pet' New Disciples prominence over his raider followers. This came to a head in 2252 when David's lieutenant Mask confronted him, and the two fought a duel that David won. David's victory caused what amounted to a small civil war within his raider gang, and after some fighting, David decided that Spokane was not the place for him or his followers. David, Maria, and his now small band of followers made an exodus south to look for land they make their own. At that point, David had descended pretty far into Christian fundamentalism and had turned his followers from raiders into cultists. Once the little band reached the ruins of the Tri-Cities in southeast Washington, they took up residence in Richland and cleared out the scavengers there. David, high on bloodlust and zealous from Maria's teachings, declared his group's mission to be establishing the Kingdom of God on Earth, not selfish gain. His followers were confused by this, but with few options left, they continued to follow him. David quickly went to work conquering the ruins of Tri-Cities from various scavenger clans and raider bands. These groups were generally larger and even better armed than David's small group. However, David's spiritual message, appeal to a higher power, and sense of community allowed his to recruit vast numbers to overwhelm his enemies. By the time the Tri-Cities had been completely conquered, the David had hundreds of new followers. Judge David, under the advice of Maria, decided now would be the moment that the Kingdom should establish itself. David finally declared the Kingdom of God to have arrived and himself to be God's Judge in mid 2252 after the conquest of the Tri-Cities' last raider band. He also asked all of his new followers (except for Maria) to take Biblical names to symbolize their "spiritual rebirth". This came as a shock to his now large group of followers (except for Maria), and several rebelled as result, quickly being killed. The Kingdom of God was born that day with David and Maria essentially taking on the world together. Moving quickly, Judge David started making a long series of declarations concerning new rules to govern his followers' lives. One of the first and most important declarations Judge David made was making his original small group of followers the top of a new hierarchy, calling them Apostles. He named them as his most loyal followers and gave them authority over large numbers of the Kingdom's newer members. Another declaration was a long list of items now banned in the Kingdom: alcohol, chems, cybernetics, pornography, non-Biblical literature, and any form of birth control. Another important series of declarations outlawed actions including rape, incest, sodomy, homosexuality, adultery, promiscuity, theft, apostasy, atheism, self-mutilation, and many other things. The last series of important declarations regarded the treatment of women and enraged quite of the Kingdom's female members. Nonetheless, they were soon enough convinced of the declaration's validity or silenced. The Kingdom then set about organizing itself for further expansion. Judge David and the Apostles organized the willing within their followers into the original Army of God while Maria worked hard organizing new declarations for David concerning governance. At the same time, more and more New Disciples came to the Tri-Cities to partake in this Kingdom of God. A month after his first series of declarations, Judge David made a declaration establishing the Hands of David, religious police who would work to expunge sin, corruption, and criminality from the Kingdom. By the end of 2252, Judge David was ready to march his army out of the Tri-Cities to spread his message to the wasteland. Iron Sharpens Iron, and One Man Sharpens Another Marching out from the Tri-Cities, Judge David and the Army of God would meet with little initial resistance as they brought the hinterlands to heel. Most wastelanders and homesteaders saw a greater authority as a positive compared to living in complete anarchy. As the Kingdom began instituting its rules on newly conquered wastelanders however, rebellion brewed. These early rebellions in 2252, mostly from more independent-minded homesteaders, were bloody but quickly squashed by superior numbers and firepower. After stemming this rebellions and solidifying its control, the Kingdom finally began to get curious caravaners coming in from the outside. The caravans has previously been warded off by by the constant warfare going on in the area but now wanted to continue business. Judge David (and Maria) negotiated with the caravaners and allowed them to go through Kingdom territory, provided they pay tribute. This gave Judge David another reason to war: clear out raiders around his territory to help trade. The Kingdom of God’s first real target in its war against the wasteland would be a rather unpopular group, the Bean Family. As caravans began to make their way across Cascadia at a rising pace, the Bean Family began to attack with increasing ferocity from their unknown sanctuary. Maria whispered to Judge David that the Bean Family, besides being an obvious threat, offered a useful scapegoat to win the Kingdom more support. Judge David agreed but did not act just yet. The situation however escalated very quickly when some Beans massacred an outpost of the Army of God in 2255. Enraged, Judge David made a grand declaration in 2255 condemning the Bean Family as a clan of cannibalistic monsters and descendants of the first murderer Cain. He also formally declared ‘war’ on the family and urged any who encountered the Beans to stamp them out. This started a short campaign by the Army of God led by Judge David to exterminate the Bean Family. The campaign was a one-sided one with the forces of the Kingdom of God frequently massacring small bands of Beans. The only real battle was the climax of the war on the banks of the Columbia River, fought between the monstrous Heath Bean and Judge David. Bishop Marcellus slew Heath himself, and the Kingdom of God emerged victorious, though the location of the Beans’ home remained a secret. In the aftermath of the war with the Bean Family, Judge David continued ranging around the wasteland near his territory to root out more raiders that might interfere with caravan traffic. It was only in 2256 that he returned to the Tri-Cities to find Maria and his Apostles in something of a power struggle. While Judge David was campaigning, Maria had discovering one of his Apostles has been raping his own daughter from a credible source. She wanted to bring the hammer of the law down on the offending Apostle, Judah, to uphold the Kingdom’s principles and not appear hypocritical. Subsequently, the Apostles circled the wagons to defend their own and appeared in solidarity to stop Maria from using the Hands of David to arrest Judah. They had disliked Maria for years already and this was the camel that broke the camel’s back. Judge David’s arrival back in the Tri-Cities brought this conflict to a crescendo. Maria immediately appealed to David for action. Judge David was hesitant to to do anything as he already knew how his wife’s influence was seen and also did not want potentially execute one of his most loyal followers, worrying what example it would set. Meanwhile, the Apostles began to spread rumors that the Judge was completely ruled by his wife. This had completely the opposite intended effect, enraging the Judge, and Judge David gave the Apostles two choices: allow Judah to be arrested and punished or face the punishment alongside him. With that, the Apostles back off the issue and let the Hands of David arrest Judah. He was subsequently hanged for both incest and rape, and life in the Kingdom of God went on like before, albeit with some of Judge David’s lower-ranking followers now having a more jaded view of the group. The Kingdom of God stayed relatively peaceful for the rest of 2250s with its rulers mostly focusing on developing new infrastructure, ensuring stability, and making more declarations. Judge David renamed the Tri-Cities ‘New Jerusalem’ in 2258 to further show that this truly was the Kingdom of God. Another Apostle was hanged in 2259 for corruption, showing again that no one was above the law in the Kingdom of God. Caravans continued to flow through the Kingdom, bringing quite a tidy sum of caps. In 2260, the Kingdom of God was declared a sanctuary for all Christians, which brought in a slow but steady stream of immigration from the wasteland. Maria in particular fostered a small community of New Disciples who positioned themselves as spiritual leaders to the masses in the Kingdom. This further agitated many of the Apostles, but they remained peaceful, knowing the Judge’s reaction to anyone opposing Maria. The early 2260s saw the Kingdom of God resume its conquests but with different methods. Under Maria’s advice, Judge David began using the Bible as a blueprint for his conquests: complete surrender or extermination of all who resist. Leaving New Jerusalem in Maria’s care, Judge David went out to conquer. The scenario of extermination played out numerous times in Walla Walla, Nineveh, and Hanford. These conquests and the horror stories they spawned helped to spread the Kingdom’s desires reputation: don’t mess with us. Communities that peacefully accepted Kingdom rule included Troll Warren and Wally. Most of the Kingdom’s conquests were over by 2266 with Judge David returning to New Jerusalem. This quick and violent expansion produced its own problems. Many of the surviving conquered peoples did like of respect the Kingdom’s rules, and many rebelled soon after being conquered when they realized what they were in for. Also, the Kingdom’s conquests gave them significant overlap with Oregon tribals, leading to them clashing with increased frequency in the late 2260s. Luckily, war with the Oregon Confederacy itself was prevented as the Oregon Brushfire Wars escalated. That led to the Kingdom to once again focus more on internal issues. More Christian artists and intellectuals streamed into the Kingdom in the late 2260s and early 2270s, though things eased off after that. A small court of officials, intellectuals, and faux-intellectuals formed around Judge David, to both the Apostles and eventually Maria’s displeasure. In particular, a man named Vasile attracted Judge David's fancy with his talk of Flat Earth Theory. This grubby little man and his stupid ideas displeased many in the Kingdom, but they were all subject to the Judge’s wishes, so Vasile stayed. Another favorite member of David’s court was Eloise, a controversial New Disciple who dabbled in Christian mysticism. A couple of Christian artists and philosophers also came to the Kingdom, but attracted Maria's attention more than David's. At the same time, conflict simmered underneath the surface of the Kingdom of God. The oppression of women in the Kingdom had caused many to break over the years, but only a few of these women reacted violently. That was until the Skirt Rebellion occurred in 2269 with a group of wives in Walla Walla making a murder suicide pact to kill their husbands. The suicide part of the pact did not pan out as planned, and three of the women fled Walla Walla with the Hands of David hot on their heels. These women fought the Hands of David for about a week, with only one surviving the little rebellion. That woman, Rahab, formed the nucleus of the future rebel group named the Daughters of Artemis. At the same time, survivalists and tribals technically within the Kingdom’s borders began feeling the pressures of the zealot state’s influence. Something had to give. The Kingdom of God continued to grow into the 2270s. However, Judge David was perfectly willing to sit on his laurels for most of the decade and not expand any further. Caravan traffic through the Kingdom continued at an unabated pace. Everything seemed calm by the spring of 2279. However, all that was about to change. Judge Not, That You Be Not Judged The spring of 2279 was when Maria would finally have her revenge on “that bitch” Eloise. Eloise and the other little ‘attractions’ at the court in New Jerusalem had been taking up Judge David’s attention for years now, and both Maria and the Apostles were jealous of their seemingly unfounded influence on the Judge. So, Maria, the New Disciples loyal to her, and the Apostles all teamed up in an unlikely partnership to remove Eloise from Judge David’s court through any means necessary. Their first move: try to blackmail Eloise to leave. This was unsuccessful as they found no incriminating evidence. Maria could not even find any evidence of Eloise’s history from her eyes and ears within the New Disciples. So, she left the Apostles to try a more radical option: assassination. Three assassination attempts failed but did get the attention of both Eloise and Judge David. Eloise grew increasingly paranoid as Judge David searches for the assassins while being continually chastised by Maria. Eventually, Eloise began taking Med-X to try to deal with the stress in her life. Those chems proved to be more effective than any assassin in bringing down Eloise. As the knowledge of her chem usage began to pile up and scandal ensued, Eloise decided to try to flee New Jerusalem instead of facing punishment for her crimes. A couple of Apostles eagerly pursued Eloise into the wasteland with the Hands of David in toe. However, they were about to meet something quite unexpected. At the same time all the court intrigue was going down in New Jerusalem, dissident forces were increasing within the Kingdom. Rebels were forming from groups such as feminists, survivalists, and tribals who felt the Kingdom was actively oppressing them. None of these different groups much liked any of the others, but they all agree the Kingdom more or less equally. So when the rebels heard an individual closely connected to the Judge was on the run, they moved fast. Some survivalists and feminists, determined to show up Judge David, banded together temporarily to rescue Eloise. The rebels fought the Hands of David chasing Eloise on the banks of the Snake River in a large costly battle. The battle ended with the rebels being killed to a man, but it did not feel like a victory for the Kingdom of God. Eloise had gotten away, and it was now obvious that rebels were operating within the Kingdom's borders. Ever since this battle, the Kingdom has been engaged in an increasingly bloody guerrilla war with the various rebels fighting them. The rebels include many different groups who rarely cooperate. The feminist rebel groups are the Daughters of Artemis and S.C.U.M. (S.C.U.M. is the more extreme of the two). The survivalist rebel groups are the Snake River Militia and the Lune Family, both who shoot outsiders on sight. The Oregon tribal rebels are divided into various tribes but all ultimately owe their allegiance to the Oregon Confederacy and Chief Kill-a-Ton, who has become increasingly concerned with the Kingdom's encroachment on tribal land. These rebels would really worry Judge David if they were ever one united front. His real concern recently has been a rural sect of Christian mystics popping up in his backyard led by his old adviser Eloise. Recently, Judge David has made it his mission to stamp out these blasphemous backwoods cultists and right the wrong he let escape. Currently, the Kingdom of God is still on the rise with caravan traffic feeding its nascent economy. The Army of God defends its borders, and the Hands of God maintain internal security. Judge David, Maria, and the Apostles grow old, but their determination (especially Maria's) has not faded. However, their apocalyptic predictions of a Kingdom of God on "an Earth reborn" has not come to pass, leaving some to doubt the Judge's legitimacy. The question of succession, of both the Judge and his Apostles, is also consciously avoided. Right now though, the Kingdom is doing well and that is all that matters to most people, whether they love or hate the zealot state. Culture The culture of the Kingdom of God is chiefly governed by its fundamentalist overlords who enforce their particular brand of post-War Christianity. The Kingdom has a church in every community, and every community in the Kingdom is governed by God’s laws. Judge David and Maria hope to one day be able to run the Kingdom directly to fulfill “God’s vision”, but nowadays, they mostly have to delegate the duties of governance to their Apostles, the Army of God, and the New Disciples. That leads to an uneven level of enforcement of Biblical law, with towns like New Jerusalem and Nez Perce being fundamentalist strongholds while towns like Moscow and Wally have more of a Wild West atmosphere. The most culturally relevant part of the Kingdom is its churches, post-War structures that serve as the center of the community. Survivalists and raider clans that joined the Kingdom in the past, as well as Judge David and the Apostle’s raider backgrounds, influenced the state considerably. The Kingdom’s communities are often quite well-armed and willing to resort to violence if prompted. That, combined with the Kingdom’s expansionism and hostility to tribals, has led to much bloodshed in the recent past. The Kingdom of God is highly patriarchal and the treatment of women within the state is reasonably hellish. Women within the Kingdom are (theoretically) not allowed to own property, carry weapons, and work a paying job. Women are expected to dress modestly, and those stepping outside of societal norms are harshly punished by religious brute squads known as the Hands of David. Men are in return expected to venerate women for their noble and selfless service. Motherhood is held as the pinnacle of female rank with mothers with over four children being given awards by Maria herself. Judge David more or less lets Maria deal with the rights of women and issue decrees on his behalf. The punishment for blasphemy or refusal to convert in the Kingdom of God is execution enforced by the Hands of David or the Army of God. The usual execution in the Kingdom is hanging, with those in West Bethlehem being hanged from the industrial crane at the town’s entrance. Firing squads were more common in the past when the Kingdom was initially rolling through and is still used on occasion when dealing with rebels. Branding (with an upside-down cross to symbolize evil), castration, and banishment are among the terrible punishments for other crimes. The Kingdom's attitude towards mutants and pre-War science is rather odd. While the Kingdom of God considers ghouls and super mutants to have been created through monstrous methods, they do not consider mutants to be necessarily monstrous themselves. However, anti-mutant sentiment is still rather strong in the Kingdom as a result of rural prejudices, and mutants are a rarity outside large settlements. Yet, this small number of mutants almost completely serve the Kingdom with a special fanaticism. Scientists, on the other hand, are more or less unilaterally regarded as evil. After all, you choose to be a scientist. Weapons/Technology The technology level of the Kingdom of God is overall pretty low. Pre-War technology is highly valued in the Kingdom but is still relatively rare. That includes both weapons and technology for more peaceful means. The Kingdom of God is at a lower technological level than NCR but is higher in development than the wasteland at least. Most of the Kingdom's settlements have access to clean water and electricity. Scientists and inventors are all but nonexistent in the Kingdom, so technological advancement is currently not a possibility. The most common weapon in the Kingdom is the AK-112. That is because David and the original Apostles utilized these weapons to great effect in their raider days. Since then, the AK-112 has been a staple of the Kingdom's military, the Army of God. Lower-ranking members of the Army of God and many of the Hands of David often wield the pipe gun, the crossbow, and the machete. Other more uncommon weapons wielded within the Army of God are the .44 Magnum revolver, the Wattz 1000 laser pistol, the hunting rifle, and the light support weapon. The civilian residents of the Kingdom are generally not allowed to wield high tech weapons by order of Judge David, but they are allowed to keep weapons such as hunting rifles and shotguns for defense against the dangers of the wasteland. The rebels within the Kingdom do not respect the Judge's limits on weapons but still do not generally have high tech weapons. Tactics/Interactions The Kingdom of God uses the Bible as its blueprint for its strategy and tactics in war. In particular, the Kingdom uses the actions of the Israelites in the books of Joshua and Judges primarily to conduct itself in warfare. When the Kingdom is at war with a group or a settlement, it carries out a systematic campaign against civilians similarly to the people of Canaan — men, women and children. Maria in particular advises the Army of God with Deuteronomy 20:17: "You shall not leave alive anything that breathes". For the Army of God during war, the implication is that there are to be no treaties with the enemy and no mercy. The Kingdom's reputation of brutality is well-known throughout the region and mostly scares off enemies who would mess with them. However, a major difference between the Kingdom and the Israelites is that the Kingdom allows intermarriage between their members and surviving female enemies. Also, off the model of the Gideonites, the Kingdom allow those who surrender to them peacefully to live. Since the Kingdom has a relatively low technology level, its military, the Army of God, relied mostly on human wave tactics to defeat its enemies in early years. However, the Kingdom of God finally developed a real chain of command as time marched on and more rebel groups sprung up, with many Apostles forming the top of the hierarchy. That has helped the Kingdom stem the growth of rebellions though it still finds it quite hard to fight guerrilla warfare against rebels whether it be feminists, tribals, or survivalists. Desertion in the face of enemy is a capital offense, with the penalty being hanging. Rape and armed robbery in the military are dealt with on a case by case basis but often are met with firing squads. In the case of settlements that are peacefully assimilated, the Kingdom uses insidious methods to impose their laws upon others. Unlike settlements where most of the population is destroyed and laws are enacted easily, more potentially troublesome settlements are given a degree of autonomy after their conquest, under the supervision of the Hands of David of course though. However, the Kingdom will always eventually introduce their laws with the laws relating to women usually being the last. This gradual process has been observed to be the path of least resistance by the Kingdom as settlements become more and more used to the laws instead of getting all of them at once. Nevertheless, the Kingdom’s harsh rules relating to women and individual choice have still led to frequent rebellions with the Army of God forced to fight an increasingly costly guerrilla war against a fractious collection of rebels as time goes on. Notable Individuals Atarah Atarah is the owner of a small bar on the border of the Kingdom in northern Idaho. As a bartender and a women, Atarah lives perched on the edge of a figurative knife in the Kingdom and only survives because of the hypocritical attitudes of the Army of God on the frontier. Atarah is a supporter of rebel groups who are actively fighting the Kingdom, but she keeps that information under wraps for obvious reasons. Erin was born in 2262 to scavengers living near Boulder, Colorado. It was rough existence the first couple of years, but Erin did not mind all that much. She had plenty of other scavver children to play with. Her favorite friend was Kyan, a quiet little boy Erin often bossed around in a playful fashion. The scavver community around Boulder was devastated by raider attacks in the early 2270s, causing Kyan's family to migrate east away from the violence. Erin's family held on for a bit longer until the arrival of Caesar's Legion. With that, Erin's family quickly packed up and moved north. The journey north was long and perilous for Erin's family, and by the time they got to where they wanted to go, northern Idaho, it was only Erin and her crippled father Ramon left. Erin was very busy initially helping out her father and fixing up their new home in the woods of Cascadia. The two established a small inn and bar for travelers, hoping to make a more stable life for themselves than scavenging. Their alcohol was either made locally or supplied by caravans. Things changed radically in with the arrival of the Army of God in the area around 2281. Cronies of the Kingdom of God, the soldiers, headed by the Apostle Lucius, quickly subsumed Erin and her father through force. Both surrendered without causing too much trouble. They were both converted to Christianity, and Erin was given the name Atarah while her father got Levi. Initially, the soldiers that came across the small family's home just wanted to burn it down since it contained alcohol, but the words of the Apostle Lucius stopped them: perhaps the little bar could a boon for soldiers and scouts on the frontier if it was allowed to stay open, for the moment. It was at that moment that Atarah began her service to the Army of God, willing or not. The bar was renamed The Sparkling Cup and was made an exclusive luxury for soldiers of the Army of God. Atarah became the bar’s main proprietor as her father remained more or less lame. She had to bow and scrape to the soldiers’ every whim, whether it be to ask for another drink or a “romp” in bed. Atarah could not refuse. She had to protect her father and moving further north was not an option. As time went on, Atarah became more and more settled into her new bleak life until a ray of hope finally showed itself. In the summer of 2283 when no soldiers or scouts were around, a lone man arrived at The Sparkling Cup. Atarah initially tried turn away the traveler but was convinced otherwise when the man told her he was a rebel looking for refuge for a bit. That interested Atarah, and she let the man in who would subsequently turn her life around once again. Atarah had let in a man named Christopher Ramsay who claimed to be a member of the Snake River Militia. However, Ramsay carefully asked Atarah about her own opinions about the Kingdom of God before revealing more. After deciding Atarah did indeed have a low opinion of the Kingdom, Ramsay divulged more information. He, several members of other rebel groups such as the Daughters of Artemis and the Lune Family, was working to form a united front against the Kingdom. It was slow work as the Snake River Militia was still reluctant to deal with outsiders openly, but Ramsay was confident they would open up eventually. It was at that time in the conversation Atarah’s father walked in and was nearly shot by Ramsay. The man tersely apologized for that and went on talking. He wondered if he might use The Sparkling Cup as a safehouse on the frontier, seeing as it was remote and easily accessible. Atarah tentatively accepted Ramsay’s request, and a new chapter in Atarah’s life began. The Sparkling Cup became a center of rebel activity in the northern parts of the Kingdom in the coming years. In the initial time after her acceptance of Ramsay, Atarah only got Ramsay coming through on a regular basis along her regulars, soldiers from the Army of God. Atarah enjoyed her new double life, and that soon involved sleeping with Ramsay as well. However, things began to escalate as more rebel agents came through The Sparkling Cup in about a year. This move alarmed Atarah greatly, and in 2284, she confronted Ramsay about it. Ramsay shrugged off her concerns and told her that she was now with the rebels whether she liked it or not. That dampened her enthusiasm a bit. Nevertheless, Atarah continued housing rebels, serving soldiers, and trying to live her life as best as she can. Her relationship with Ramsay has fizzled out, but he still comes around on occasion, and they flirt sometimes. The various rebels that have come through Atarah’s bar over the years have not been the friendly type and the only one she knows well is Ramsay. Atarah keeps a level but has two existential crises looming over her: how much longer will the Kingdom allow the Sparkling Cup to exist and if her father dies, will she leave for greener pastures? Atarah does not like to think about the latter question. Atarah is a woman trying to find strength in hard times. She was initially a very strong-willed assertive child who was not afraid to help those less fortunate than herself. Practically left on her own by her crippled father and victimized by uncaring soldiers of the Army of God, Atarah felt numb, alone, and humiliated for a long time after moving north. The only thing that held her onto this world was caring for her I’ll father. What ultimately gave Atarah hope was the rebels, who proved more proactive in making her feel better than her father. The rebels are Atarah’s lighthouse in the darkness of her life, even if her trust in them has been shaken over the years. Her sadness and depression still well up on occasion though, with little real end in sight. Judge David Judge David is the harsh autocratic ruler of the Kingdom of God who casts himself as the arbiter of God on Earth. Raised by raiders and converted by his wife Maria, a member of the New Disciples, David retains many of the sensibilities he held as a raider while carrying out “God’s will” with a fundamentalist’s vigor. The Judge's origins are surreptitious, with only his Apostles and Maria knowing his true history. Bishop Marcellus Bishop Marcellus is an Apostle, a rather maligned Bishop within the Kingdom of God, and a friend of Judge David from his raider days. Never really fit to be a pastor, Marcellus nonetheless was placed in the New Disciples as Bishop while doing very little ecclesiastic work. Most of his time is spent stamping out local rebels with the help of the Hands of David and enjoying the rewards gifted to him by Judge David for his loyalty. A boy named Tubes was born to a raider and his sex slave in the blasted-out ruins of Spokane in the 2230s. Maria Maria is the zealous wife of Judge David, a prominent figure within the Kingdom, and an ardent female misogynist. Raised among the New Disciples in Nicaea, Maria was captured by David when he was still a raider, and she worked to convert him, eventually marrying him. Maria's love of David, her religious zealotry, and her misogyny are results of a rather unique childhood, one she would rather forget but never can fully put behind her. Maria’s role in the Kingdom of God’s creation was pivotal, and she even helped design the Kingdom’s flag. Maria was born on January 18, 2214 to Andrew and Zelda, two New Disciples living in Yakima. The birth took a great toll on Zelda, but both parents were happy to finally have a child, as they had been trying hard for years without much success until the arrival of Maria. Andrew and Zelda went on to cherish Maria as their only child, a gift from God himself perhaps. Maria’s childhood was highly structured, as per her Disciple upbringing, but she remembers it fondly nonetheless, seeing the discipline and education given to her in this period as being crucial to her later survival. Things did not remain so rosey for Maria as the years dragged on. In the years after Maria’s birth, Zelda’s mental condition began to deteriorate, exacerbated by an existing condition, and she began to lash out at Andrew increasingly, leading to fights within the household. Maria did not witness many of these fights, but those she did see marred her perception of her parents, especially her mother. Maria’s Disciple education led her to delve deep into the Bible and other literature, allowing the girl to escape her fractured home. As a teenager in Yakima, Maria was shy and practically friendless. Most of the time she was found with her head buried in some book, whether it be the Bible or her other favorite book Pride and Prejudice. Maria was a good-looking girl, getting some advances from other teenage boys in Yakima, but she rejected them all. This was partially because of Maria’s conviction that she save herself for marriage and partially because of her social awkwardness. Maria still had attractions that she could not deny however and kept a diary while she was in Yakima of all her teenage interests. Maria’s life took a radical turn when it was announced her family was joining a Disciple expedition to establish a mission in eastern Washington to minister to the tribals there. Othniel Othenial is a rising young figure in the Army of God who has a reputation for dealing with rebels and enemies of the Kingdom in a rather severe manner. Born after the Kingdom was already established, Othniel has fought his way up the local hierarchy going from a Hand of David to a high-ranking member of the Army of God. Othniel is quite infamous for his ruthless punishments of prisoners of war, becoming the highest ranking member of the army who is not a Apostle. Rebels often commit suicide rather than be captured by Othniel. Othniel also is known for his staunch belief in a Flat Earth, something that has gained him much mockery behind closed doors. The baby that would become Othniel would be born in the 2250 to a family of scavengers living in the ruins of the Tri-Cities in the shadow of David's already rising power. Sasha Sasha is a mercenary within the Army of God who was born in Alaska to a community of Russians. A recent arrival to the Kingdom, Sasha was hired specifically to assist the Army of God in stamping out the rebels plaguing their lands, as his previous job was hunting down Badlanders for wealthy (and desperate) wastelanders in Canada. Sasha's Russian Orthodox faith, blatant alcoholism, and good sense of humor sets him apart in the evangelical Kingdom of God, but due to his role as a mercenary, he gets by. Sasha was born around 2263 to two loving parents in the small village of Dyra in Alaska. Sela Sela is the wife of the overseer of a farm in Nez Perce who strives to live up to the ideal of the loyal housewife. She spends most of her hours keeping up the house and caring for her children. Already a woman when the Kingdom overtook Nez Perce, Sela remembers the time before rather fondly but tries not to think about it too much. That just causes more pain. Clarissa was born in 2252 in Nez Perce to a mourning mother named Leah who had just lost her husband to a raider attack. Nevertheless, Leah vowed to raise her two children, a son and a daughter, as best she could regardless of her status as a widow. Reuben Reuben is an old cranky Hand of David in New Jerusalem who is extreme even by the Kingdom’s standards. The Army of God recruited Reuben when he was just a hermit in the wilderness, and he fought valiantly for the Kingdom in his younger days. Now, the only thing that can put Reuben on a power trip anymore is policing the streets of New Jerusalem on the lookout for degenerates, rebels, and sluts (especially sluts). Reuben was born around 2208 to some homesteaders in northern Oregon. He was the fourth child of an already large extended family. Reuben started trouble almost straight out of the womb, quickly becoming known for his acts of mischief and petty arson around the homestead. He was a creative little trickster who had a knack for making traps and little contraptions. At first, these acts amused many of Reuben’s relatives. That changed as time went on. In his teenage years, Reuben’s once mischievous acts took a cruel turn. Quotes Category:Groups Category:Communities Category:Cascadia Category:Cults